‘Madelynn’s Law’ in honor of Madelynn Troutt passes as part of Safer Kentucky Act
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - At Marcie Troutt’s Valley Station home, sunflowers are a happy reminder of her daughter Madelynn.
Their home is decked out in yellow, Madelynn’s favorite color and her pictures decorate nearly every wall.
Madelynn’s name can be found in every corner of the house, and soon it’ll be written into Kentucky law.
Madelynn’s Law is a part of the Safer Kentucky Act, which was passed by the Kentucky House Thursday.
It prevents charitable bail organizations from posting bail of $5,000 or more.
Court documents revealed Michael Dewitt was out on a $5,000 bond when he drove a stolen car the wrong way down Dixie Highway and crashed head-on into Madelynn’s vehicle in 2021. The Bail Project had posted his bail just a week before the fatal crash.
Now, her family hopes Madelynn’s Law can help save lives.
“It causes them to stop, and they have to actually look and see what kinds of things they’ve been convicted of,” Troutt said.
At the time of the crash, Dewitt had a lengthy criminal history including charges and convictions for burglary, drugs, drunk driving, breaking and entering, and theft.
Madelynn’s Law prevents charitable bail organizations from bailing out a violent offender or someone being committed to involuntary treatment for substance use disorder through Casey’s Law.
It also requires photo identification for any person who posts bail and requires organizations to make an annual report to the legislature. The report must include the number of individuals and the classification of offenses for the individuals whom they helped to post bail. The report must also be publicly available on the organization’s website.
Marcie hopes this will make organizations think twice about who they’re bailing out.
“If you’re going to bail someone out, you should be responsible for their actions once they’re out,” Troutt said. “That wasn’t done with Madelynn’s case and I feel like it’s not done with so many other cases that we don’t know about.”
The Safer Kentucky Act also includes “Jake’s Law”, named after 10-year-old Jake Luxemburger who was killed when the vehicle he was in was struck during a police chase. It increases the penalty for fleeing or evading the police to a class C felony. It also prevents the defendant from being released on probation, shock probation, conditional discharge, or parole until they have served at least half of their sentence.
Madelynn’s family hopes both laws can help prevent other families from losing loved ones in the same way they have.
“We’ve been pushing and pushing for this and to finally be able to say it’s going to the governor is a big relief,” said Peyton Troutt, Madelynn’s brother.
“I know we can’t stop everything or stop it all from happening, but if we prevent one family from having to feel what we feel from this, then we’ve done what we set out to do,” Troutt said.
Madelynn’s family is planning to start a foundation in her honor that they’re calling the Live Like Madelynn Foundation.
All the proceeds from their annual memorial golf scramble in June will go toward the foundation. You can learn more on Marcie Troutt’s Facebook page.
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